Lake Mead and other national parks in Nevada generated a total of $385 million in 2023, a new report has found.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area alone produced $358 million from visitor spending in and around the national park.
Across the whole U.S., visitors to national parks generated a mind-boggling $55.6 billion in 2023.
According to the report, visitors to the park spent around $292 million in 2023, 75 percent of which went to Nevada. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area contributed a total of $358 million in economic output.
"In 2023, 5.8 million park visitors spent an estimated $292 million in local gateway regions while visiting Lake Mead National Recreation Area. These expenditures supported a total of 3,130 jobs, $131 million in labor income, $219 million in value added, and $358 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Lake Mead National Recreation Area," the National Parks Service explained.
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. in terms of water capacity, and straddles the Nevada-Arizona border. It was formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, which was completed in 1936, and provides water to 25 million people across Nevada, Arizona, California, and Mexico.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a sprawling protected area that encompasses Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, along with the surrounding desert landscapes. Established in 1964, it was the first national recreation area in the U.S. and offers a wide range of recreational activities, including boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, and camping.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area was the ninth most-visited National Park area in 2023, with about 5.8 million visitors, ranking it above the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area—which saw 5.2 million visitors—and the Grand Canyon, which had 4.7 million visitors.
Also in Nevada, the Great Basin National Park generated $21.8 million, and the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument generated $5.5 million.
The Grand Canyon National Park generated $1.0 billion in economic output in 2023, Yosemite National Park generated $725 million, Great Smoky Mountains National Park $3.4 billion, Yellowstone National Park $828 million, Death Valley National Park $137 million, Joshua Tree National Park $227 million, and Grand Teton National Park $936 million, among others.
"The National Park Service report, 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, finds that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. This spending supported 415,400 jobs, provided $19.4 billion in labor income, and $55.6 billion in economic output to the U.S. economy," the National Parks Service said in a statement. "The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs."
Some Nevada national monuments were left out of the analysis, including the Basin and Range National Monument, Gold Butte National Monument, and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
"The Biden-Harris administration has made historic bipartisan investments to restore and enhance national parks across our nation," U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in the NPS statement. "This report illustrates the significant economic benefits national parks provide to nearby communities and the U.S. economy, and the value of our work to safeguard these public lands in the wake of the climate crisis, upgrade visitor experiences and invest in park infrastructure and staff."
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